Bismuth ferrite polyaniline nanohybrid based electrochemical detection of theophylline

Abstract

Theophylline (TPN) is commonly used in the treatment of respiratory disease. However, its misuse is associated with several known troublesome side effects. Thus. there is a need to monitor its concentration in pharmaceutical formulations and the human body. In the current study, the bismuth ferrite nanoparticles (BiFeO 3 NPs) were synthesized via the sol-gel auto-combustion method and bismuth ferrite polyaniline (BiFeO 3 /PANI) nanohybrids were fabricated by the in-situ chemical polymerization. BiFeO 3 was confirmed as rhombohedral structure and irregular morphology with particle size <60 nm, and synthesis of BiFeO 3 /PANI was also confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The BiFeO 3 /PANI/GCE was fabricated by the drop-casting method and employed for electrochemical detection of TPN in the range of 0.08 to 330 μM with detection limit of 0.023 μM. The developed electrochemical approach was successfully used for determining TPN in real biological and pharmaceutical samples with remarkable recoveries (>90 %) indicating its reliable performance in real applications.